Young people ‘abandon’ TV, 62% of Generation Z prefers tablets

Watching content is no longer an activity linked to a defined place and time, but is part of a broader routine, made up of travel, breaks and multitasking. In addition to vision, the tablet establishes itself as a tool that accompanies various activities of the day. In Italy it is also used daily for social media (34%) and for messaging (34%)demonstrating how consumption, sharing and interaction increasingly occur in the same digital environment.

Gaming also contributes to this change: at a European level, almost all students who own a tablet use it to play, confirming an increasingly hybrid, interactive and continuous approach to entertainment. For Generation Z, entertainment and creativity are increasingly connected. The tablet becomes a space in which watching content is combined with the possibility of creating, modifying and sharing it immediately.

This is also reflected in the way students use devices: 94% customize layouts and settings to adapt to their way of studying and communicating, while 73% use the tablet regularly to generate or develop ideas, transforming it into an active tool in content production.

“This research tells of a generation that no longer separates the moment of consumption from that of creation. For them, watching a film, playing or creating content are part of the same flow,” comments Alessandro De Lio, PC & Smart Devices Leader of Lenovo Italia. “The success of the tablet lies in its ability to accompany these activities in a fluid way, adapting to the different moments of the day and the spaces in which they take place”.

The research was conducted by the Censuswide institute on a sample of 8,035 university students aged between 18 and 25, enrolled full-time in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The survey was carried out between 30 December 2025 and 14 January 2026. Censuswide operates in accordance with the Market Research Society (MRS) code of practice and the ESOMAR principles, and is a member of the British Polling Council.